CAA Rewind, Home Stretch Edition

By Dave Fairbank

William and Mary’s anguish has taken many forms this season: a kicker’s right foot; a shoulder sling; a penalty flag; a bolt of lightning. Add to the menu a bouncing ball and the questionable decision of an Old Dominion sophomore to grab said ball and attempt to do something with it.

Antonio Vaughan’s unlikely, how’d-that-happen, 70-yard punt return for a touchdown didn’t decide the Monarchs’ 41-31 win. It was a second-quarter exclamation mark and simply one more hurdle, one more cold, wet mackerel upside the mush of a team with zero margin for error and that all season has watched opponents make their own breaks.

“We had him tackled,” said the Tribe’s nearly incredulous head coach Jimmye Laycock, who repeated himself twice more just for emphasis. “Had him tackled. We had him tackled, and we let him go. I mean, what do you do? What do you tell them? Tell me. Hang on longer, right? I mean, really. We had him. There’s no answer to that one. We were there, we had him, we had him wrapped up, we just didn’t put him down.

“Give him credit, too. Heck of a play. … We were there. You’ve just got to tackle him.”

Week 12 in the Association featured plenty of other head scratchers and big plays. James Madison coach Mickey Matthews showed up on time for Saturday’s game at Villanova, but his team did not in the Wildcats’ 35-20 crunch job; Richmond’s thievery continued in a 23-17 win against Delaware.

Towson continued its late push with a predictable 41-10 win against the Conference Wafflers; and the Fighting Currys sent half the team to the L.L. Bean outlet in Freeport for Gore-Tex and fleece, while the other half remained in Orono for a 51-7 loss to Maine.

Conference leader New Hampshire was idle, as were Northeastern and Hofstra.

Vaughan’s punt return embodied the calculated risk-taking approach of ODU special teams maharajah Bobby Wilder, who also doubles as the Monarchs’ head coach.

“That was one of those, ‘No-No-No-Yes!! (situations),” Wilder joked afterward.

Drake Kuhn’s low, rugby-style punt bounced a couple of times, as William and Mary players converged on the ball.

“I (saw) it was a short punt,” Vaughan said, “and I thought twice about picking it up. I was going back and forth (deciding), just trying to make a play. So I went on and picked it up, and broke one tackle and (saw) daylight.”

Vaughan broke a tackle, curled left toward the ODU sideline, picked up an entourage and raced to the end zone for a 20-14 lead. On the sideline afterward, Wilder praised him, but reminded him of the risk.

“We have a lot of trust in Nick Mayers and Antonio Vaughan, and those kids have made a lot of really good decisions for us,” Wilder said. “What we tell them is, if you feel like you can pick the ball up cleanly, then you can do it. If you can’t pick it up cleanly, then you’ve got to let it roll and we’ll take the yardage.

“We harp on those kids all the time about not losing 15, 20, 30 yards on a roll, to pick the ball up and play it. But to answer your question, 99 times out of 100, let’s take the ball and play offense.”

Taylor Heinicke and the ODU offense were more productive, particularly in the second half. William and Mary settled for one field goal on four trips inside ODU territory in the second half, including a first-and-goal at the 5-yard line.

Heinicke, meanwhile, directed fourth-quarter touchdown drives of 79 and 80 yards that cinched the Monarchs’ inclusion in the FCS playoffs heading into the final week.

ODU (9-1, 6-1 CAA) is one of six CAA teams still in contention for playoff berths, along with New Hampshire, JMU, Villanova, Richmond and Towson.

Four intriguing games on the final Saturday: ODU at James Madison (7-3, 5-2 CAA); Towson (6-4, 5-2 CAA) at New Hampshire (8-2, 6-1 CAA); Villanova (7-3, 5-2 CAA) at Delaware; and Richmond (7-3, 5-2) at William and Mary.

Depending on results, the CAA could have one 9-2 team (ODU), four 8-3 teams (UR, ‘Nova, JMU and UNH) and a 7-4 team (Towson). In that event, someone and maybe sometwo, are staying home. We will attempt to separate them in the coming days.

A win two Saturdays ago at Maine aside, the Mickeys are leaking oil, due to quarterback issues and defensive inconsistency. ‘Nova built leads of 17-0 and 33-7 in a performance Matthews called “embarrassing.”

The Wildcats rushed for 307 yards – Kevin Monangai had 150 – and weathered the loss of quarterback John Robertson in the third quarter due to concussion-like symptoms.

Towson-UNH figures to be a brawl, with the occasional Sean McDonnell gadget and Rob Ambrose gamble. A win gives New Hampshire the conference title (ODU is ineligible) and figures to eliminate Towson – a 6-5 team, even with two FBS losses, doesn’t make the field. However, a 7-4 team with two FBS losses and six CAA wins is a pretty good playoff bet.

UNH, even with an FBS loss and two losses to ranked CAA opponents, appears a playoff lock.

Towson dusted depleted Rhody, scoring on six of its first seven possessions before Ambrose took his foot off the gas. Dominique Booker’s day included many yards and little strain – 181 yards and a touchdown on just seven carries, a snappy 25.9-yard average.

Quarterback Grant Enders played backyard pitch-and-catch, going 19-for-28 for 231 yards and four touchdowns. The Tigers rushed for 260 yards and averaged 7.9 per carry.

Richmond continued its remarkable turnaround under Danny Rocco. The Spiders took a 17-0 lead and then the game turned into a defensive slog. UR had a 5-1 turnover edge, and free safety Cooper Taylor, who might be the league’s defensive player of the year, intercepted Trent Hurley in the end zone on the game’s final play. Taylor, by the way, is playing with a broken, and padded, left hand he suffered against Rhody.

Richmond’s four picks against Hurley Saturday make 23 for the season, and the Spiders are an obscene plus-20 in turnover margin.

The Fighting Currys played out the string in their coach’s final game. Maine ran up 594 yards and averaged nearly a first down per play (9.1 yards).

Everybody’s career has to end somewhere, but it’s unfortunate that a gentleman such as Bill Curry’s ended with a 44-point loss to conclude a 1-10 season in front of less than 3,000 people in 40-degree temperatures in southern Maine.

The L.L. Bean signature all-weather shoes that Maine officials presented Curry – honest, they really did that – are a reminder that sometimes things work out, and sometimes you get the boot.